"Observations of what we do not want to see . . . ."

A Confusing Observation

There is a thought that I cannot shake: people in America prefer big business over big government.

All over the place, I hear that people don’t want health care reform because what has been proposed is big government. The cry of “socialism” was (and still is) loud and clear when a government option for health care was on the table. The people didn’t want it; the politicians ran from it.

But if it is control that people are afraid of, what is it that makes people NOT afraid of big business? Surely, it has not been lost on people that it is big business that is controlling health care now? It is the insurance companies who are controlling who we can see, when we can see them, what treatments we can get, when we can get them, and what will not be covered at all?

It is big business which has determined that it is not profitable for them if people with “pre-existing” illnesses are bad for business; therefore, if you have high blood pressure, or cancer in remission, and you change jobs, chances are great that no insurance company will pick you up.

If you get too sick and require too much hospitalization, you might be dropped. You might not be able to see the doctor you really want to see if he or she is not on a list which the insurance companies have compiled.

Ummmm, isn’t that control?

I thought, and maybe I was wrong, but I thought that in a democracy there was supposed to more emphasis on egalitarianism. I know,I know …that from the beginning, the scales were tipped toward white men with money. But wasn’t the underlying principle of the new government supposed to be egalitarianism? You know, a living out of the “all men are created equal” declaration?

Government was supposed to be “of the people, by the people and for the people.” I remember that from elementary school lessons on the United States Constitution.

That was the protection against “big government,” and certainly, there is some consolation in the fact that because of our Constitution, America will never be a dictatorship.

But there is no protection against big business …and in fact, big business might be considered a new dictator. Big business makes money on the backs “of the people,” and big business makes life difficult “for the people,” and ignores cries “by the people.”

If one does not pay, one is cast aside.

I keep thinking about this, why people cannot see, or will not see, that it is big business that is running the so called democracy. Big business has gotten in the way of health reform for over 70 years, because it is protecting itself and its interests.

If we’re afraid of “big” control, we ought to be really afraid now, today, because big business has the people right where it wants them and will fight with big money to keep it that way. Big business has the means to shut down any and all opposition, because it fights with what people want more than anything else: money.

I just cannot see why control by big business is any better or safer or comforting than some government control which seeks to make it possible for more people to get health care.

And that is a candid …and confusing… observation.

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2 thoughts on “A Confusing Observation”

I think you’ve hit on a huge problem for America, but it is a problem, I think, that is rooted in our founding documents, not contrary to those documents as so many believe. The fact is that America has come to be about the notion of social justice and equality, but has never come to terms with the idea of economic justice. The Bill of Rights never touches on economic issues—there is no right to a job, a home or an education in America. In fact, in Federalist #10, Madison makes clear that government’s primary duty, in his view, is to protect a state of affairs where wealth is distributed unequally, which he sees as the natural state of things. So wealth and the power it brings have always been accorded more deference in America than mere wealth deserves. But we have arrived here, not by accident but by design. I guess the real question is: How do we change this?